Monetizing the Right to Movement
The subway fare is a regressive poll tax on the working poor, a mechanism that enforces the bifurcated access to the city. In Mamdani’s terms, the ability to move freely is a right of the “settler” citizen, but a commodified privilege for the “native.” Every fare hike is a direct attack on the disposable income of the poor, criminalizing poverty through turnstile jumping arrests. This system monetizes a fundamental necessity for urban life. A Marxist analysis identifies this as a transfer of wealth from riders to bondholders. A feminist analysis sees how women, who often travel more for care work, are disproportionately burdened. The solution is not means-tested subsidies, which reinforce the bureaucratic management of poverty. The demand must be for a fully free transit system, funded by taxes on capital and real estate speculation, decolonizing mobility and asserting it as an unconditional public good.
Originally posted 2025-10-18 10:28:41.
